f giese



Oct. 1 1, 1932. IE JR 1,881,478

CLAY GUN STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 10, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 .Oct. 11,1932.

A. F. GIESE, JR

CLAY' GUN STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 10, 1931 7 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 11, 1932. A. F. GIESE, JR 1,881,478

CLAY GUN STRUCTURE Filed Sept. 10, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 0Ct. 11, 1932. F G JR 1,881,478

CLAY GUN STRUCTURE Patented Oct. 11, 1932 STATES PATENT AUGUST F. GIESE, JR., OF GARY, INDIANA CLAY GUN This invention relates toaclay gun structures for association with blast furnaces for charging clay into the tapping holes thereof.

Among the important objects of the invention-are to provide improved means and arrangement for supportinga gun on a carriage for shift thereon into or out of clay discharging position; to provide simplified and improved means and arrangement for shift ing the gun on its carriage; to provide construction and arrangement which will enablea gun of large capacity to be readily manipulated and applied totapping holes for which comparatively small runner troughs 3 are provided; to provide an arrangement which will distribute the load of the gun shifting parts so that the structure Wlll be submitted to the least stresses and strains I during operation of the gun structure; and

.in general .to produce a simple, compact and powerful clay gun structure which can be easily and readily manipulated and which capable of ,dischrrging large volumes of clay after a single filling operation. 1

The various features'of myiinvention are incorporated in the structure disclosed on the vertical sleeve or hub 12 receiving the pillar or post 13 rising from the base 1% which is mounted on the'floor 15 adjacent to therunner trough, thesleeve being supported and,

journalled by lower and'upper ball bearing assemblies 16 and 1? respectively. A-boom' arm 18 preferably built up of-steel beams and partsis rigidly secured to the upper endofu the sleeve 12 and extends laterallytherefrom. A sheave 19 is secured to the boom structure STRE GTURE Serial No. 562,034.

concentric with the sleeve 12 and is adapted to receive a belt or cable driven from some suitable source (not shown) so that the sleeve 12 may be turned to swing the boom arm 18.

The carriage structure U comprises atrack or guide frame having the longitudinally extending or parallel side walls 20 and 21 and the front and rear walls 22 and 23 respectively these walls having outwardly extending strengthening flanges 24: along their periphcries. The upper horizontally extending sections 25 connecting the side walls 20iand 21 is'rigidly secured torthe end of the boom arm 18 as by means of bolts 26, so that the supporting or track frame extends transversely of the boom with the body part thereof inclined downwardly in a forward direction.

Along substantially the front half thereof, the side walls 20 and 21 have theguide slots 2'!" and 27' respectively, whileialong-substantially the outer half ofthe side walls are the guide slots 28and 28 respectively,the upperand lower walls of each slot being parallel and the side walls along the peripheries of the. slots being deflected outwardly to form strengthening flanges 2S1, these slots, as will presently be described, forming guideways for supporting rollers and the flanges 29 along'the lower sides of the slots forming railways for the rollers.

Movable within the track'frame is a carrier or truck comprising the sidewalls 30-and 30 connected by abottom wall 31. The side walls 30 and' 30 have at their front ends the bearing hubs 32 and 32 for journalling-thefront axle 33 having at its ends-thefianged rollers or wheels 34: and 34, these wheels extending intothe slots 2? and 27 for engagement with the rail flanges-29 thereof. Attheirrear: ends the walls 30 and 30 havethebearing hubs 35 and 35 for the axle 36 which has at 'its ends theflanged wheels orrol'lers 37 and 37' engaging in the guide slots-28 and 28 respeetively. 1

Between the side walls-30and 30 of the carrier vor *truck is a rack gear frame 38 terminating at its ends in upper bearing-heads'39 and 40 receiving theaxles 33 and 36respectively between the axle bearing hubs on the Walls 30 and 30 the lower bearing heads 41 and 42 are bolted to the upper ends 39 and 40 so that the rack frame will be rigidly mounted on the carrier or truck. On its top side the rack frame has rack teeth 43 for engagement by a driving pinion 44, rotation of this pinion causing the carrier or truck to be shifted along the supporting carriage frame C, the carrier or truck forming a support for the gun G.

The rack engaging pinion 44 is secured to a shaft 45 extending horizontally along one side of the boom arm 18 and j ournalled at its outer ends in the journal boxes 46 and 47 secured on top of the side walls 20 and 21 of the frame C.

Anelectric driving motor 48 is provided for the shaft 45, this motor being on the opposite side of the boom arm from the shaft 45 and being supported on a bracket 49 extending from the boom arm supporting sleeve or hub 12. Gearing 50 in a box 51 connects the motor shaft with a transmission shaft 52 which extends along the end or base of the boom arm at right angles with the motor shaft and the shaft 45, and a speed reducing train Within a housing 53 connects the transmission shaft with the shaft 45. The gear housing 51 may be mounted on the bracket 49 which supports the driving motor and the speed reducing structure 53 may be mounted on a bracket 54 extending motor, gearing, speed reducing mechanism and shafting, is borne directly by the boom supporting hub 12.

The gun G comprises a cylindrical barrel or cylinder 55 having a head formed of the inner and outer frames 56 and 57, the frame 56 forming a continuation of the cylinder and being secured thereto as by bolts 58.

The frames 56 and 57 are rigidly secured I together asby bolts 59 and the frames have respectively the upward extensions 60 and K 61' whose upper walls 62 and 63 form a seat for the base 31 of the carrier or truck in the carriage C, bolts 64 rigidly securing the truck to the extensions 60 and 61 so that the gun G will be suspended from the truck to move therewith as the truck is shifted in the carriage C.

The frames 56 and 57 enclose a cylindrical chamber 65 through which a cylindrical drive hub or nut 66 extends coaxial therewith and with the cylinder 55, this hub having a radial flange 67 to which is secured a worm gear 68. Ball bearing assemblies 69 and 70 within the frames 56 and 57 support the hub 66, the hub at its ends extending through the openings 71 and 7 2 in the outer walls of the frames 56 and 57 respectively.

Within the cylinder or barrel 55 of the gun is a piston 73 to which a screw 74 is rigidly attached at its inner end, the screw extending axially through the hub 66 which is threaded to receive the screw thread. Within the cylfrom the sleeve I "or hub 12, so that the entire weight of the inder 55 and along the opposite sides thereof are secured guide bars 75 engaging in grooves 76 in the opposite sides of the piston 7 3 so that the piston and the screw attached thereto are prevented from rotational movement. However as the hub 66 is rotated the screw will be shifted axially to move the piston longitudinally in the cylinder.

A platform 7 7 extends outwardly from the frame 57 and has mounted thereon an electric driving motor 78 whose shaft carries a driving gear 79 which meshes with a gear 80 on a shaft 81 which extends through achambei; 82 formed between the deflected wall sections 83 and 84 of the extensions 60 and 61 on the frames 56 and 57 respectively, the shaft being journalled in the side walls of the extensions. Within the chamber 82 the shaft 81 carries a worm 85 which meshes with the worm gear 68 on the screw engaging hub 66, the motor through the intervening transmission train thus controlling the rotation of the hub 66. The gears 79 and 80 may be protected within an enclosing housing 86 (Figure 2). In order to protect the screw 74 from dirt and grit, a tubular shell 88 is secured within and to the platform 7 7 to ex tend outwardly from the frame 57 as clearly shown in Figure 4. The screw is thus always enclosed and protected.

The gun cylinder 55 has suitable inlet openings for the charge thereinto of clay. Two such inlets are shown which are closable by closure structures 90 and 91 respectively, the inlet opening covered by the closure 90 being at the rear end of the cylinder and the inlet covered by the closure 91 being at the front end of the cylinder so that the cylinder may be rapidly filled with clay, and when only a small charge is desired only the front closure 91 need be opened for filling in of the charge. The charged in clay is ejected from the gun through a nozzle 92 secured to the front end of the gun barrel the front wall of the barrel having the contracting outlet 93 with which the nozzle communicates and the nozzle being also of diminishing cross section toward its outlet end so that clay forced through the cylinder by the advancing piston is compressed for the closure of any voids therein before it is ejected from the nozzle.

The rear ends of the guide slots 28 and 28 for the truck rollers or wheels 37 and 37 curve gradually downwardly, and the rear ends of the guidewa-ys 27 and 27 for the front truck wheels 34 and 34. incline slightly upwardly, the front ends of the grooves 28 and 28 and 27 and 27 being parallel and along the same angle with the horizontal. When the truck is shifted rearwardly and the wheels are at the rear end of the guideways 28 and 28 and 27 and 27 respectively the truck and the gun will be almost horizontal and the gun nozzle 92 will be in front of the furnace wall above the runner trough lland the tapping hole 10. lVhen the motor 48 is operated to shift the truck forwardly the passage of. the wheels through the in clined rear ends of the guideways will cause the truck and the gun to swing down during initial forward movement of the truck so as to quickly bring the gun nozzle into the runner trough and in front of the tapping-hole 10, so that when the truck rollers engage in the front ends of the guideways the gun will U the carriage so that the gun is withdrawn along a straight line in axial direction to fully clear its nozzle from the furnace wall in front of the tappingrhole, and then the truck inclines to bring the gun rapidly up to its practically horizontal position.

Thenozzle 92is shaped so that its center line is a distance below the center line or axis ofthe barrel 55 with the lower wall ofthe nozzle parallel with the cylinder axis but the upper wall section inclined downwardly toward thenozzle end. This form and arrangement of nozzle permits the head or piston drive containing mechanism end of the gun barrel to remain above the top of the run- .iiertrough sothat only the nozzle end of the barrel need be projected into the trough for discharge of the gun. This is very desirab e where the runner trough is comparatively small as a large capacity cylinder may readily be applied to the tapping hole without striking the trough.

The nozzle with the straight bottom and the inclined top can also be withdrawn from a plug hole without breaking away or disturbing the plugged in clay at the outer end of the hole.

Suitable latch or locking means 95 may be provided for locking the carriage C rigidly in position while the gun is being discharged. 1 have shown a latch book 95 pivoted to the extension 96 at the front of the carriage, the hook sliding over a lug 97 into interlocking engagement therewith when the carriage is swung into position for discharge of the gun, and as shown this lug is at the outer end ofia bracket 98 extending from the furnace wall.

After the gun has been discharged and has been retracted by the rearward movement of the supporting truck, the latch hook 95 is raised and then by means of the belt or cable connection with the sheave 19, the hub 12 is rotated and the boom arm 18 swung to move the carriage and the supported gun into position over the floor at one side of the runner trough so that the gun may be readily recharged. When it is desired it'o plug a hole the hub "12 is rotated :and the boom arm swung to bring the carriage into alignment 'over'the runnerytrough and with the latch hook 95'into interlock-with the lug'-97.- The motor 78 is then operated ito cause outward movement of the piston andidischarge of the clay from the gun-into thetappin'ghol'e. im-

mediately after discharge of the gun,:or. after the carriage and gun lhave been swungaway from the runner trough, "the motor 78 is reversed -for withdrawal of the pistonand for recharge of the 1 gun barrel.

'lVithin the h'ousing99 there is -a suitable cut out or limit switch which is connected by a gearing train 100 with the driving motor 78 to be operated in 'synchronism with the motor and the piston .73 so as to ad- .just the motor circuit .for stopping of the motor when the piston 73 reaches predetermined positionswithin the gun barrel. This controlling means isire'ferred to "and claimed in my copending application Serial .No. 435,435 'filed -'March 13, 1930.

The gun structure which I'have shown and described is strong, durable and *compact and easily controlled :and operated. The driving train for the gun supporting truck is clustered about the boom :arm supporting hub 12 close to the axis thereof and the Weight of this transmission train :balances more orless the weight ofthezcarriage and gun onthe end of the boomarm. The guideways in the carriage for the truck rollers are so aligned relative to the rack teeth 43 that the driving pinion 44 will :remain accurately in mesh with the'teeth during the entire reciprocation movement of the truck on the carriage frame.

I have shown a practical andeflicientembodiment of the various features of my invention but I do not desireito be limited to the construction and operation shown and described, as changes and modifications may be made without:departing from the scope of the invention as defined'inthe appended claims. 7

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. Apparatus for closing 'furnace'tapping holes comprising a supporting-structure, a clay gun structure's'hiftable on said supporting structure, a motor mounted on said supporting structure and a pinion driven thereby, a rack bar on said gun structure engaged by said pinion, the cooperation of said pinion and rack bar controlling the shifting of said gun structure on said supporting structure into or out of clay discharging position.

2. In clay 'gun structure, the combination of a support having guideways thereon, a truck supported on said guideways for reciprocation on said support, a clay gun secured to said truck to be suspended therefrom and to move therewith,-a gear 'ipiniom on said support, means for driving said pinion, and rack teeth on. said truck engaged by said pinion, the cooperation of said pmion and rack teeth controlling the reciprocation of the truck on said guideways for truck teeth whereby said truck may be reciprocated on said support, said guideways being directioned to guide said gun for abrupt downward swing and then for axial shift along a straight line into discharging position.

t. In clay gun apparatus, the combination of a support having guideways thereon, a truck mounted on said guideways for reciprocation on said support, a clay gun secured to and suspended from said truck, a

rack bar removably supported on said truck, a driving pinion on said support engaging said rack bar, a driving motor for said pin.- ion, the cooperation of said pinion and rack bar controlling the reciprocation of said truck and the gun therewith, said guideways being directioned to normally support said truck With the gun in elevated position and to guide said-truck when shifted forwardly for initial downward swing of the gun and then axial shift of the gun in a straight line into discharging position.

5. In claygunapparatus, the combination of a supporting frame having guideways, a

gun structure having supporting rollers engaging said guideways, a straight rack bar rigidly mounted on said gun structure, a

- driving pinion on said supporting frame engaging said racl: bar and a motor for driving said pinion, cooperation of said pinion and rack bar causing reciprocation of said gun structure relative to said supporting frame, said guideways being directioned to maintainmeshing engagement between said straight raclrbar and said pinion. during rc ciprocati on of: the gun structure and to cause said gun structure upon forward movement thereof to be first deflected abruptly downwardly and then shifted axially into disc charging position.

6. In clay gun apparatus, the combination of a gun structure comprising a barrel having a discharge nozzle at one end, a head structure for the other end of said barrel comprising separable frame parts defining an enclosed chamber, a plunger for said barrel, a stem extendingfrom' said plunger through said chamber, a driving motor mounted on said head structure, a transmission train Withinsaid chamber connecting said motor in driving relation with said stem for reciprocation of said plunger in said barrel, a supporting frame, a truck shiftable on said frame and secured to said hub structure, and means for reciprocating said truck on said frame to move said gun structure into or out of clay discharging position.

7. In clay gun apparatus, the combination of a supporting post, a hub mounted on said post for rotation thereon, a boom arm extending laterally from said hub, a carriage frame at the end of said boom arm, a truck reciprocable on said carriage frame, a gun supported from said truck, and a driving train connected with said truck for causing reciprocation thereof to move said gun into or out of clay discharging position, and a driving motor for said transmission train, said motor and train being mounted on said hub.

8. In clay gun apparatus, the combination of a supporting post, a hub mounted on said post for rotation thereon, a boom arm extending from said hub, a carriage frame at the end of said boom, a truck mounted for reciprocation on said frame, a clay gun suspended from said truck, means for rotating said hub to bring said gun into alignment with a furnace tapping hole, and driving means for controlling the reciprocation of said truck to shift said gun into or out of discharging position relative to the furnace tapping hole, said driving means including a driving motor mounted on said hub and a transmission train mounted on and surrounding said hub and connected with said truck.

9. In clay gun apparatus, the combination of a supporting post, a hub mounted on said post for rotation thereon, a boom arm extendingfrom said hub, a carriage frame at the end of said boom arm, a truck reciprocable on said carriage, a gun suspended from said truck, means for rotating said hub to swing said boom to move said gun in alignment with a furnace tapping hole, and driving means for said truck for controlling the reciprocation thereof for shift of said gun into or out of discharging position, said driving means including a shaft at one side of said boom. arm having driving connection with said truck, a motor mounted on said hub at the other side of said arm, and a transmission train mounted on said hub at the end of said arm and connecting said motor with the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name at Gary, Lake County, Indiana.

AUGUST r. omen, JR. 

